Kick Off: Will quick turnaround doom US in Honduras?

The road to the World Cup begins in earnest on Wednesday for the US national team in what just might be the least favorable place the Americans can possibly play: San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

The US have spoken all week about the tough challenge that awaits them against Los Catrachos later today (4 pm ET on beIN Sport, live chat on MLSsoccer.com), and head coach Jurgen Klinsmann reiterated that point during a media session on Tuesday. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges for the US team is the quick turnaround for some of its European-based stars, some of whom joined the team as late as Monday.

“For the players, this qualifying round will be a new lesson,” Klinsmann said. “Coming from Europe, from the Bundesliga and the Premier League, suddenly we meet in Miami and fly to Honduras where they are going to try to beat the s--- out of you. This is what the players will have to understand. That the game will be a battle."

One of the biggest storylines in today’s game will be the performance of one of those European stars: Timmy Chandler. The German-American defender has waffled back and forth with his commitment to the US team since Klinsmann tried to call him up for the Gold Cup last year, but with an appearance today he’ll be cap tied to the US, and could become a backline fixture if the team can reach Brazil in 2014.

"There's been a lot of back and forth, probably too much if you ask me, but that's my opinion,” goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “We think he's a big part of the team. He's young, but he brings a lot of grit and he's a really good player. Obviously, commitment is a big thing for us, so if that's what he's going to do then we're excited.”

One player noticeably absent in Honduras is Landon Donovan, the LA Galaxy star still on walkabout and trying to figure out a potential return date to his soccer career. US midfielder Michael Bradley addressed his longtime teammate’s absence on Tuesday, telling media that “when his head is in it, when his heart is in it, he is a big part of things here. … But at the same time, life goes on here.”

How will former Houston Dynamo star Geoff Cameron feature in today’s match? He’ll likely start in the back in perhaps the biggest game of this career to this point, but he insists his recent shift to the English Premier League should be a boost.

“When you’re playing in the EPL, the crowds are tremendous, they’re loud, they’re passionate, they’re tremendous,” he said. “So it’s similar to the aspect here of the hostile environment. But saying that, European teams can’t really copy the feeling here. But overall you know what to expect ­– that the fans aren’t going to be great to you.

The match-fixing scandal that has rocked international soccer, meanwhile, continues to make headlines this morning, highlighted by Europol chief Rob Wainwright’s recent comments about claims that match-fixing occurred in 380 matches, including Champions League and World Cup qualifiers, played between 2008 and 2011.

And one last thought on this topic: Burkina Faso coach Paul Put was suspended by the Belgian FA for match-fixing and is currently serving a two-year ban, but he had this to say about some of the pressures involved with the crime while he was in Belgium: "The whole of Belgian football was sick at that time. I was threatened by the mafia. My child was not safe. They threatened me with weapons and things like that. It's not nice to talk about these things, but this is the reality."